Basic Education for Children with Special Needs in Zambia

Abstract

Zambia’s national policy on the formal education of children with special educational needs (CSEN) began to evolve following the completion of a nation-wide campaign to reach disabled children (ZNCRDC), which was spurred by the UN declaration of 1981 as the International Year of Disabled Persons (IYDP). The campaign generated epidemiological estimates of the prevalence of various types of disability among the population of basic school age (5–15 years), that showed that existing special educational provisions were reaching less than 10 per cent of those ascertained as severely disabled. The first phase of public policy focused on programmatic expansion in the 1980s of the number of units, located within the premises of existing basic schools, and offering specialised educational support to children with one particular broad type of disability (hearing, intellectual/learning, physical/mobility, or visual). This expansion programme was retarded by a number of fac-tors: resource constraints arising from a severe, national economic recession; refocusing of the principle of affirmative action to ensure equity to prioritise action to redress the disadvantages faced by girls (PAGE), and by children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic (OVC); and heightened emphasis on the principle of inclusion, which was often operationalised in the form of mainstreaming. Concurrently with the expansion of specialised units for CSEN, the quality of instruction and certification for specialist teachers was upgraded by the re-staffing and rehabilitation of the national college (LCTH/ZAMISE). Despite the enlarged output of qualified teachers from the College, staffing of CSEN units has remained problematic, largely due to poorly managed deployment of the college’s graduates. A recent shift in policy at the college in response to this problem has involved preparing graduates with skills to address the special educational needs of children with all four broad types of disabilities. Several lines of evidence are reviewed on these trends, including government policy documents and statistical reports, as well as a qualitative analysis of interviews with a sample of key informants. Major challenges currently faced by the government in attaining its policy objectives are itemised and some strategic options for addressing them are presented.

Keywords

Formal education disability affirmative action special needs inclusion

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Broge, A. (1986). The pilot follow-up project for disabled children in Zambezi district. In D. Nabuzoka (Ed.), Reaching disabled children in Zambia (pp. 123–133). University of Zambia, Institute for African Studies (mimeo).

Dawes, A. , Bray, R. , & vand der Merwe, A. (2007) Monitoring child well-being: A South African rights-based approach. Cape Town, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

Desai, A.B. (1986). National/provincial tables. In D. Nabuzoka (Ed.), Reaching disabled children in Zambia: Reports and other articles on various aspects of the National Campaign to Reach Disabled Children (1980–1985) (pp. 36–50). Lusaka, Zambia: University of Zambia, Institute for African Studies (mimeo).

Fryers, T. (1986). Statistical estimates and projections. In D. Nabuzoka (Ed.), Reaching disabled children in Zambia: Reports and other articles on various aspects of the National Campaign to Reach Disabled Children (1980–1985) (pp. 28–35). Lusaka, Zambia: University of Zambia, Institute for African Studies (mimeo).

GRZ (1996) Educating our future. Lusaka, Zambia: GRZ Ministry of Education.

GRZ (2006) Fifth National Development Plan: 2006–2010. Lusaka, Zambia: GRZ Ministry of Finance and National Planning.

GRZ (2007) 2007 Educational Statistical Bulletin. Lusaka, Zambia: GRZ Ministry of Education.

GRZ (2003) 2000 Census of Population and Housing: Zambia Analytical Report, Volume 10. Lusaka, Zambia: GRZ Central Statistical Office. Retrieved from www.zamstats.gov.zm

Helander, E. (1993) Prejudice and dignity: An introduction to community-based rehabilitation. New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

10.

Joynson, R.B. (1974) Psychology and common sense. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

11.

Kangwa, P. , Bonati, G. , Chalker, P. , & Scotchmer, C. (2003) Learning together in the Mpika inclusive education project. London: Child-to-Child Trust (limited circulation report).

12.

Kathuria, R. , & Serpell, R. (1998). Standardization of the Panga Munthu Test—A nonverbal cognitive test developed in Zambia. Journal of Negro Education, 67(3), 228–241.

13.

Mittler, P. , & Serpell, R. (1985). Services: An international perspective. In A.M. Clarke , A.D.B. Clarke , & J.M. Berg (Eds). Mental deficiency: The changing outlook. (pp. 715–787). London: Methuen.

14.

Mumba, P. (2000). Democratisation of primary classrooms in Zambia: A case study of its implementation in a rural primary school in Mpika. Paper presented at International Special Education Congress 2000, University of Manchester, UK, July 24–28. Retrieved from http://www.isec2000.org.uk/abstracts/papers_m/mumba_2.htm (accessed May 2008)

15.

Mwape, G. , & Serpell, R. (1996). Participatory appropriation of health science and technology. Poster presented at the International Conference of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD). Quebec, Canada, August, 1996 (ERIC document ED417191.htm)

16.

Nabuzoka, D. (Ed.) (1986a) Reaching disabled children in Zambia: Reports and other articles on various aspects of the National Campaign to Reach Disabled Children (1980–1985). Lusaka, Zambia: University of Zambia, Institute for African Studies (mimeo).

17.

Nabuzoka, D. (1986b). The pilot follow-up project for disabled children in Katete district: A report. In D. Nabuzoka (Ed.), Reaching disabled children in Zambia (pp. 103–122). University of Zambia, Institute for African Studies (mimeo).

18.

Parekh, P.K. , & Serpell, R. (1983). Zambia National Campaign to reach dis-abled children. National Planning Seminar on the Rationale and Logistics of Specialist Interventions in relation to Community-based Rehabilitation, Report and Recommendations, April. Lusaka: GRZ Ministry of Health (mimeo).

19.

Serpell, R. (1984) Mobilizing local resources in Africa for persons with learning difficulties or mental handicap. Report on a workshop held in Nairobi, November 1982. Oslo: NFPU & Brussels: ILSMH.

20.

Serpell, R. (1986). Specialized centres and the local home community: Children with disabilities need them both. International Journal of Special Education, 1(2), 107–127.

21.

Serpell, R. (1990) Audience, culture and psychological explanation: A reformu-lation of the emic-etic problem in cross-cultural psychology. Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, 12(3), 99–132.

22.

Serpell, R. (1993) The significance of schooling: Life-journeys in an African society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

23.

Serpell, R. (1999). Opportunities and constraints for research on education and human development in Africa: Focus on assessment and special education. Prospects, XXIX (3), 349–363.

24.

Serpell, R. (2008). Participatory appropriation and the cultivation of nurturance: A case study of African primary health science curriculum development. In P.R. Dasen , & A. Akkari (Eds), Educational theories and practices from the ‘majority world’. New Delhi: SAGE.

25.

Serpell, R. , & Jere-Folotiya, J. (2010). Matching the specialised competence of trained teachers to the needs of children with various types of special educational need enrolled in Zambia’s public school system. Paper presented at the Education Sector Research Symposium on ‘Promoting Decision-oriented research and evidence-based decision-making in the Education Sector’, Ministry of Education, Lusaka, 8–9 December 2010.

26.

Serpell, R. , Mariga, L. , & Harvey, K. (1993). Mental retardation in African countries: Conceptualization, services, and research. International Review of Research in Mental Retardation, 19, 1–39.

27.

Serpell, R. , & Nabuzoka, D. (1985) Community based rehabilitation for dis-abled children in Vulamkoko Ward: A followup study. Lusaka: University of Zambia, Psychology Department, 42 ps. (mimeo) Paper presented at BBI consultation in ISSMD Congress in Delhi.

28.

Serpell, R. , & Nabuzoka, D. (1991). Early intervention in Third World countries. In D.M. Mitchell , & R.I. Brown (Eds). Early intervention studies for young children with special needs (pp. 93–126). London: Chapman & Hall.

29.

Serpell, R. , Nabuzoka, D. , Ng’andu, S. , & Sinyangwe, I.M. (1988). The develop-ment of a community-based strategy for the habilitation of disabled children in Zambia: A case of action-oriented health systems research. Disabilities and Impairments, 2(2), 117–129.

30.

Serpell, R. , Zaman, S.S. , Huq, S. , Ferial, S. , Silveira, M.L.M. , Dias, A.M.C.de S. , de Campos, A.L.R. , Narayanan, H.S. , Rao, P.M. , Thorburn, M.J. , Halim, AJ. , Shrestha, D.M. , Hasan, Z.M. , Tareen, K.I. , Qureshi, A.A. , & Nikapota, A.D. (1988). Assessment criteria for severe intellectual disability in various cultural settings. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 11(1), 117–144.

31.

UNESCO. (1994). Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/SALAMA_E.PDF (accessed November 2008)

32.

WHO. (1983) A Manual on training disabled people in the community: Community-based rehabilitation for developing countries. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organisation.

33.

World Bank. (2007). Implementation completion and results report on a loan/credit in the amount of US$ million 35.59 (sdr 25.86 million credit) to Zambia for basic education sub-sector investment Program. Retrieved from http://www.wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/02/09/000020953_20070209131910/Rendered/INDEX/ICR48.txt (accessed on 21 June 2011)